New Delhi [India], October 6 (ANI): Members of Parliament representing the opposition INDIA bloc on Tuesday staged a high-voltage protest march in the national capital against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, accusing the Election Commission of bias, tampering with the electoral rolls, and orchestrating the mass deletion of legitimate voters.
Holding placards, banners, and effigies, opposition leaders, including prominent figures from the Congress, Samajwadi Party, and other constituent parties, demanded an independent probe into the functioning of the poll body and called for the immediate resignation of the CEC, alleging that democratic processes are being subverted.
Speaking during the demonstration, former Punjab Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Charanjit Singh Channi accused the authorities of selectively removing names from voter lists to favor the ruling party.
"The opposition of India, including Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, and all the MPs of the INDIA bloc, we are staging a protest here today because they are deleting votes and keeping only the votes of their own people," Channi said.
He further appealed to the public, saying, "I also want to appeal to the people of Punjab that in this ongoing drive to add and delete votes, your votes will be removed. Please check your votes. We have launched our 'Vote Bachao Abhiyan' (Save Vote Campaign) and 'Vote Chori Roko Abhiyan' (Stop Vote Theft Campaign). Check your votes under this; otherwise, on the day you go to cast your vote, you will not find your name on the list."
Joining the protest, Congress MP S. Jothimani asserted that the opposition would not back down in its fight to protect democratic institutions, irrespective of police action.
"We will face lathis, bullets, but we will ensure that this Election Commissioner goes... We want the CEC Gyanesh Kumar to go. He has destroyed the electoral process and democracy," Jothimani said.
Congress MP Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy, who was seen holding an effigy of the CEC, launched a scathing attack on Gyanesh Kumar, alleging links to the ruling establishment and demanding an immediate inquiry.
“This is Gyanesh Kumar's effigy. We want to burn it out here because the way he has misused his power in doing vote chori [vote theft]... he is trying to derail democracy. We want to show to this country that Gyanesh Kumar has been appointed by Narendra Modi and Amit Shah with malafide intentions. He is trying to change... he did the changes in Form 6 without intimation or without taking permission from any of the bodies. So definitely, he is a BJP karyakarta [worker], he is not the CEC. He has to resign immediately, and there should be an enquiry on him,” Reddy said.
Reddy further alleged, “He is an RSS man in the CEC. Now he has to come out openly. One of the DGPs in Kerala has clearly said that he had lobbied for a ticket for him in 2016. That clearly shows this person is a BJP person.” (ANI)
"Will face lathis, bullets, but will ensure this EC goes": Opposition sounds warning at INDIA bloc protest
